Mossad Warned CIA of Iranian Drone Plot Against Trump

Israel's Mossad passed the CIA specific intelligence on an Iranian plan to attack President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration with explosive-laden drones, the Israeli daily Israel Hayom reported. Senior Israeli and American officials quoted in the report said Washington asked Israel to verify the information, and that it was also corroborated by another Western intelligence agency.

The warning prompted heightened security measures in Washington. According to the report, Trump has cut back on public appearances, particularly outdoor events. Dedicated counter-drone systems have been deployed at events he attends. Several senior administration officials were also moved from their private homes to secure military facilities.

Those relocated include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Bessent confirmed in an interview that he had moved onto a military base because of Iranian threats. Reuters reported that Bessent was relocated over threats attributed to Iran, though the severity of the specific threat against him has not been fully disclosed.

Separate reports in US media, including Fox News, support parts of the account, mainly the relocation of senior officials to military sites. However, neither the White House nor the CIA has officially confirmed the existence of the specific drone plot. American media have previously reported skepticism over similar warnings, including when the CIA questioned Israeli intelligence on an earlier assassination plot.

The report coincides with a visit to Washington by Mossad chief Roman Gofman, who met CIA Director John Ratcliffe, as diplomatic contacts between the US and Iran remain completely frozen. Ratcliffe has previously urged against both a new war and a new deal with Iran.

According to the officials cited by Israel Hayom, the security threats have also shaped American policy, leading Trump to harden his position and step back from pursuing negotiations with Tehran. Vice President JD Vance had been working to revive talks and sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, a senior figure in Iran's security establishment, proposing a direct meeting between representatives of the two countries.

Trump sent the opposite message. In a statement, he said he had asked Vance to devote his full attention to fighting corruption and crime in cities and states run by the Democratic Party. "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days are long gone," Trump wrote.

Concern is also growing over a possible revival of Iran's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has voiced mounting alarm over its inability to monitor Iranian nuclear activity, particularly at a facility in Isfahan to which inspectors have been denied access since June 2025. A confidential report submitted by the agency's leadership states that it lacks sufficient information to determine what is happening at the site.

The main fear is that Iran is pressing ahead with nuclear work out of sight of inspectors, after sharply limiting IAEA access to its facilities following the war and the strikes carried out by Israel and the United States. According to figures in the report, Iran holds hundreds of kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, but since the war, agency inspectors have struggled to track its location and condition.